SERIES HISTORY: 37th regular-season meeting. Panthers lead series, 23-13. Carolina has three victories in a row, including a 42-28 victory at home on Nov. 4. The Panthers are 11-4 against Tampa Bay under head coach Ron Rivera.

KEYS TO THE GAME: The Panthers have to find more red-zone success because they've stalled too often after potential big momentum-turning plays. They're not necessarily built for a power running attack, so that might limit some options. With quarterback Cam Newton a threat to run, it ought to give Carolina enough possibilities to improve their touchdown rate. The Panthers have tried to dial up their pass rush and that's something that will be more important with their secondary dealing with more injuries. They probably can't afford to blitz much because of coverage lapses on the back end, so that means getting it done with stunts and pushes from the front four.

The Bucs have tried a lot in recent games to achieve more balance on offense. The explosive plays may be down, but they are running the football more consistently and helping a porous defense. At home the last two games, Tampa Bay has allowed 16 and nine points, respectively. The Bucs still are hit hard by injuries in the secondary, but the defensive line is playing better, having produced eight sacks in the past two games. Tampa Bay may not have an answer for running back Christian McCaffrey, but linebacker Lavonte David and possibly safety Justin Evans will return this week.

The Bucs will hope that quarterback Jameis Winston can protect the football and use his receivers -- Mike Evans, Adam Humphries, Chris Godwin and tight end Cameron Brate -- to move the football and dominate time of possession.

--Buccaneers LB Lavonte David vs. Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey. David is coming off a sprained MCL that forced him to miss two games. McCaffrey played 95 percent of the Panthers' offensive snaps last week and had a franchise-record 237 yards from scrimmage, becoming the first player in team history to top 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game and only the second player to do so since 2011.

--Panthers CBs vs. Buccaneers WR Mike Evans. The Panthers are banged up in the secondary and had to make adjustments on the fly last week. They allowed too many receivers to find openings down the field and that's something that Evans will try to take advantage of. If CB James Bradberry is healthy, he likely draws the assignment on Evans. Evans has posted 100 or more receiving yards in the past two games. If he can do it again, it will be the fourth time a Tampa Bay receiver has a three-game streak of 100 yards (and Evans is one of those to previously do it). Evans is the franchise leader with 37 touchdown catches.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Panthers WR DJ Moore. The rookie continues to show why he was a first-round draft pick of the Panthers, becoming a go-to weapon on offense. With eight catches last week against Seattle, he set his season-high mark. In a two-game stretch, he has compiled 248 receiving yards, making it the most productive back-to-back stretch for a rookie receiver in franchise history.